A Wisconsin hospital employee has been arrested on charges of intentionally removing 57 vials of the COVID-19 vaccine from a pharmacy refrigerator, local police announced Thursday. The worker had already been fired by Rora Medical Center, who said he was forced to throw away more than 500 doses of the vaccine as a result of the incident.
Grafton police said the man has been arrested on three recommended charges: first degree reckless endangering security, prescription drug to property and criminal damage, all of which are crimes. Police did not name the man, but identified him as a man. The suspect is being held at the Ozaki County Jail.
The hospital launched an investigation and was originally believed to have inadvertently pleaded guilty to human error, CBS Chicago reported. But on Wednesday, the activist who was responsible admitted to doing it on purpose, Advocate ur Rora Health said.
The department indicated that some patients were vaccinated in refrigerated doses. But it has been said that health officials do not believe that anyone who received a dose that was not properly refrigerated is at medical risk, and instead the description of that dose is “useless”. The department estimates the cost of spoiled vaccines can range from 8,000 to 11 11,000.
Earlier in Grafton, police said the department, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration were “activating” an investigation into the case.
“We continue to believe that vaccination is the way out of the epidemic,” advocate Rora Health said in a statement. “We are more than disappointed that more than 500 people will be delayed in getting their vaccine as a result of this person’s actions. This was a violation of our core values, and that person is no longer employed by us.”
Like other vaccines approved for emergency use in the United States, made by Pfizer, the Moderna vaccine requires initial transport and storage at cold-freezing temperatures, but can be stored locally at a more typical refrigeration temperature for several days after use.
Despite federal officials’ definite goal of immunizing 20 million Americans by the end of this year, about 12 million doses were distributed Thursday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker, and Less than 3 million were actually administered.
Officials with the Health and Human Services, Defense Department and Operation Operations – military-led operations to deliver vaccines across the country – told reporters Wednesday that the slow-expected administration of the shots may be due in part to la la, but they acknowledged that all vaccines Destination not reached.
Army Chief General Gustave Parna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, admitted that some doses were still “on the road” when he spoke on Wednesday. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence in the government’s efforts to inoculate Americans against coronavirus.
Contradicting CDC figures, he said on Wednesday that “we have distributed more than 14 million doses of the vaccine.” “We are really doing well in the distribution, in my opinion,” he said.
CBS News.com’s Drew McNamara contributed to this report.
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